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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 17, 2018 20:28:37 GMT -8
Gavalion grinned back at her. “Maybe Leo will be into soccer in the future. You never know. He could end up on the world stage and win all the gold medals.”
June now really wondered how much Gavalion told her. Some days he felt like the vamp’s personal diary and admittedly started to tune out of the conversation. If he was briefed about this, he hadn’t been paying attention. He quietly prayed Gavalion hadn’t been telling any false stories about him.
“I believe you answered your own question, yeah? I saw him around the House, but I stuck with the other humans. He was…” thinking that Gavalion didn’t tell her about the situation with Ariel, he steered the thought and continued, “on a no human diet for a little bit, so we didn’t really get to talk. After I left the House, I came back down here. I was raised in the area actually. I spotted Gavalion on the way home from work. It’s hard to confuse him with anyone else with that hair and shuffle of his. To be honest, I was surprised he was alive. I was a bit curious to how, so I brought him over, yeah?” June added quickly before any crazy mode activated, “I interrogated the hell out of him before letting him go.
“Did you fall in love with his music and then him? It couldn’t possibly be because of that walk,” June teased.
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 17, 2018 20:38:30 GMT -8
Raechelle nodded along to June’s stories. She was honestly interested to hear another person’s point of view of her husband. If she was lucky, she would get some gossip she didn’t hear about. Unfortunately, June clearly had been schooled in Gavion’s “Don’t tell Raechelle” policy. She was still stingy on the Ariel-Gavalion assumed relationship even though the woman was gone. If he added more fuel to the fire... maybe it was best he didn’t say too much.
“I became infatuated with him when I saw him in a soccer field and the rest is history. So, yeah, I guess his gait is what for me,” she laughed softly, feeling slightly embarrassed over that concept. That wasn’t as romantic as she’d like it to be, but it was the truth. Gavalion said be herself, so out came awkward Raechelle.
It probably was surprising that gavalion made it through all of this. At least, to June it would be.
“I hope seeing him was a nice surprise,” she said softly, looking down at her tea as she bit her lip again. It was tempting to say how hard people worked to keep him around, but there was no need for that. It seemed wrong to say something that rough and certain about it. If they left it at Gavalion still being around, that seemed fine.
“What do you guys do together? If you don’t mind me asking. My friends and I go about with our art, so it’s not too exciting. Maybe you could give me ideas of some wild adventures I can go on!” Was she pressing too hard? Did she seem too pushy or anything? This was definitely not something she was used too.
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 17, 2018 21:27:58 GMT -8
“Is that so?” June hummed, glancing over at Gavalion who was smiling at Raechelle. It took some time to pull it out of him, but Gavalion did eventually admit soccer made him happy. June promised to contact his friends to see if they could rope the vampire in a pick-up game. Gavalion was opposed to it of course. “I suppose watching him play again would be a nice early or late anniversary gift, yeah?” That earned him what he assumed was a strained smile mixed with a scowl with a dash of a glare from Gavalion. Scary, but worth it. If that didn’t convince him to follow up on the invitations, June didn’t know what would.
“We just hang out,” Gavalion piped up. “I asked her to make a list of things to do before the year ends, and I would do my best to accommodate!”
June was thankful for the explanation, but that raised more questions. Where did he plan to get the money? Per their conversation last night, he seemed unmotivated to do anything. They were only joking about him robbing a bank. Hopefully. He then realized Gavalion left the answer suspiciously vague.
“We hang out on occasion. Mostly he knocks on the door, takes my blood, then dips, yeah,” June clarified with a sip of his tea. “If he’s feeling particularly chatty, we exchange words over brownies or strawberries. If he’s looking a bit depressed after unaliving someone, I take him out, yeah. I went ice skating for the first time the other day. I heard rumors his kind have impeccable balance. Luckily for a first time skater, that turned out to be true. Wow. It sounds like I’m taking care of a puppy, yeah? Anyway, we explore whatever is open. If it’s not we just sit in the park. It’s incredibly boring, but it calms him down, yeah?” June chuckled. “He wants to take me up to the rooves, but like I said, his kind can skip along a telephone wire with ease. He wasn’t getting me on a damn roof to look at stars. Almost got me stuck in a tree. Bastard almost left me too,” he finished into his drink. “I was going to propose a round of drinks one time even though he can’t get drunk, but after that stunt, I don’t trust him to take care of me if I get wasted.”
June didn’t notice Gavalion nearly dropping his jaw at the mention of him killing people. He did notice the vampire had gone off to order something by the time he was finished.
“He tries to stay over for less than an hour since that’s about how long it takes for your family to eat, yeah? It must be fun having him around for as long as he wants.”
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 18, 2018 5:20:50 GMT -8
Raechelle felt stunned into silence at the 'unaliving' comment. The comment hit her like a brick wall and flooded her with concern. Why hadn't he mentioned that he was killing people? Was he trying to protect her or was he just not being honest? Maybe that was something to bring up later in the comfort of their own home.
"Ah, yes, it's lovely having him home now! It's nice to have help with Leo, especially since I forgot how difficult newborns can be." She collected herself, realizing that getting worked up over his eating habits wasn't going to make this trip any better. They'd talk about it later and Gavalion would somehow be reasonable like he always was. It was possible they may have a little fight, but they'd kiss and make up and go on like normal. Because, that's how it always went.
"Maybe I'll have to add Gavalion playing soccer to my list of desired adventures. Or!! I have an even better idea, we can get him playing with Lilly and Kory! They love playing with him! If you ever come over, maybe you could join them. Then they'd have even teams!"
So, they went ice skating, Gavalion fed from him and discussed his feelings, and went on silly adventures. That sounded reasonable that friendly people would do. All of the red flags she had been worried about weren't popping up yet. They were just friendly! This was perfectly fine. All of her worries had been for nothing! Sure, she learned that Gavalion liked going around murdering people but they'd figure that out later without an audience.
"I have to admit, I was nervous to meet you. I'm a bit of a recovering introvert and I wasn't sure what to expect." Raechelle finished her tea, offering June a soft smile. Hopefully this was going as well as she thought it was.
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 18, 2018 10:06:35 GMT -8
Doubting that Gavalion would allow Kory to play with them, he smiled, “I very much have two left feet, but I’m sure I can figure out how to kick a ball around. A playdate does sound fun.” If Raechelle was open to the idea of him being around her other children, she couldn’t be as crazy as they say right? Although he wasn’t sure if she knew all that happened when Kory was being babysat by Sandon or the other vampires. He shouldn’t take his chances.
“I don’t know what that means to be a recovering introvert, but it’s fun meeting new people, yeah? I can’t be around too many people for too long either. I have to take the social interactions in doses.” June stood up from his seat. He planned for this to be a short meeting, and Raechelle finishing her drink seemed to be perfect timing. Gavalion wasn’t back yet, and he hoped he didn’t scare the vampire off. “Going in with no expectations isn’t bad. Makes it easy to exceed them, yeah?
“I won’t hold you two. Gavalion tells me you have a lunch date, and I suppose you are on a time crunch until Leo stirs, yeah?” He tucked in his chair and grabbed the umbrella and his remaining iced-tea. “He still plans for dinner, but maybe that soccer game would be better to have first if it’s of interest. Anyway, I’m off, yeah? It was nice to meet you Raechelle.” With that, he made his way to the exit.
He stopped by Gavalion who was staring out the window and smiled. “Lesson learned for next time, yeah? Tell me what you have or have not discussed with your wife? It’s not my place to judge why you keep some things quiet; I just don’t want to be placed in that position again. Adieu, yeah?”
Stepping out onto the sidewalk, he felt a few drops of rain. It was still light, so he didn’t bother to open the umbrella. He walked past where they sat and waved a final goodbye to Raechelle. She definitely didn’t seem to be the one quick to bite anyone’s head off. He felt probing intentions behind a couple of her questions, but she sounded like a nice girl. Was it the fear of Ariel’s wrath that made the others treat her differently?
~*~*~
“Want another tea?” Gavalion asked, cautiously taking his seat again beside Raechelle. “I went to see if they had any brownies, but they ran out and were baking more. I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here, so I didn’t order it.” He thought the meeting was overall a success. Whether or not Raechelle would be willing to invite him over again is another question. Speaking of questions, he knew she would have inquiries about a few things June said. He would be able to answer them, but she wouldn’t like it. Gavalion sighed softly. Now he had that to look forward to later. It seemed that he played a game of whack-a-mole with what will worry Raechelle next.
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 18, 2018 11:17:24 GMT -8
Raechelle said her goodbyes to June, feeling unsure of how she should think about that meeting. It had been a little awkward when he admitted some secrets that Gavalion had been keeping. Poor guy was probably going to have a conversation about that.
“If we don’t plan to leave soon, I’ll have some more tea. That way you can have your brownie,” Raechelle smiled, turning to face Gavalion. “That didn’t seem so bad, but you stayed far away,” she mused. Reaching over, she placed a hand on his leg and smiled brightly up at him. Shockingly, she felt really good. She shouldn’t, since she learned of her husband’s misbehaviour yet she just didn’t care.
“I’m glad we got out of the house! Maybe you can invite June to come play soccer with you, Lily and Kory. Leo and I can sit and watch you guys have lots of fun!” She reached over and kissed his cheek sweetly before settling back into her seat. “As long as you’re okay with that, of course.”
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 18, 2018 11:40:28 GMT -8
“I felt Leo stir, so I wanted to walk around to make sure he didn’t wake up,” Gavalion made up. He didn’t wish to spoil the event with her casting suspicious glances in his direction. Returning the kiss, he smiled back at her. “I’m glad too since you look so happy. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual. Plus we discovered a new spot to hang out at. I knew this place existed, but I never had a reason to come inside.” It wasn’t quite like the café he worked at back in the States. The people seemed nice enough. Unfortunately they didn’t have evening hours. Once Leo had normal sleeping hours, he’d stop the day escapades. They wore him out, and he couldn’t continue hunting every night.
“It would be more like kick the ball around than soccer, but I can ask Lilly if she’d want to play. I can imagine her taking advantage of every moment to play with her dad, yet there may be activities she doesn’t like to do. I don’t want to force her. Plus what if she doesn’t like June. I don’t want him calling all the way out only to have Lilly hide somewhere,” Gavalion thought out loud.
He shook his head. “I can always make brownies at the house. Maybe the restaurant sells them.” Gavalion proceeded to put Leo back in his carrier and lifted the baby bag on his shoulder.
“If you’re willing to invite him over, I suppose you have a positive first impression?” he guessed with a smile.
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 18, 2018 11:58:06 GMT -8
"Then we'll have Lilly play with you and Kory can play with June! If Lilly works up the courage to come out and play with June, then so be it!" Maybe she was a little selfish assuming June would like to jump in and play with Kory, but she was hopeful. She knew Gavalion wouldn't play with Kory even if she begged and pleaded. Even if she put that on her list of adventures, Gavalion wouldn't budge.
The two boys could play with the kids and she would have some relaxation time! It was a win-win for both her and Gavalion since she'd be relaxing and healing and Gavalion would have his friend over to visit.
"I think it was an okay first impression. I don't know what he thought about me, but he seemed to be an okay guy. You'll have to tell me more about him and your antics so I can connect a few more dots about him." Raechelle stood up, smiling knowingly over at Gavalion. She doubted Leo had stirred, but she wasn't going to argue with him. Maybe he was embarrassed or worried about what she had found out. Shockingly, he hadn't even brought it up to her. Maybe later he'd ask her, or she'd have to bring it up herself.
"Where are we off to next?" she asked curiously, holding a hand out to him. "June mentioned we have a lunch date to attend. He ran off rather quickly," she commented softly, wondering if she had overstayed her welcome in this meeting. Had it really been that awkward? Or was she just overthinking it?
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 27, 2018 18:36:51 GMT -8
“We don’t do anything really exciting. Like he said, most of the time I stop by his place for a little bite or I chew his ear off or stare up at the ceiling in his presence,” Gavalion insisted, taking her hand and leading her out of the café. “He’s usually working on this or that, and I often show up unannounced. He probably minds, but he hasn’t said anything lately. After all, I’m only there for an hour or so before I come back home.” He didn’t want her having any crazy ideas, nor did he want June to become an interrogation topic. He’s been seeing the man for a little over a month now. June kept to himself for the most part and only knew so much about him from House gossip. Most of the rumor he confirmed or denied, but there were a few he kept as a mystery.
He would appreciate June avoiding any mention of them, so he guessed that was partly the reason he skittered away seemingly too soon. “Well I did mention a lunch date last night, but I suppose that proposal could have been lost amidst the kisses,” he smiled easily, swinging their arms lightly. “Of course, if you’re against it now, we can head back home. The restaurant I researched was around here and hopefully not too far of a walk,” Gavalion said, looking around at the building numbers and for the street signs.
“June might have thought I would take the reins of the conversation away from him, or perhaps he had another matter to attend and wasn’t anticipating a long meeting from the beginning.” Gavalion chuckled and kissed her cheek lightly. “Most likely he could not handle being around such a beautiful woman for so long. Perhaps he feared me taking a large bite from him if he looked at you funny,” he teased. “No matter the reason, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If he didn’t like you, he would tell you.” June was certainly more forthcoming with a little alcohol in his system, yet Gavalion could see the human being direct with clients.
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 28, 2018 3:34:17 GMT -8
"I'd love to have a little lunch date with you! We don't have to go home just yet!" He probably had mentioned a lunch date, but her exhaustion clearly had gotten to her. Or maybe he was right, all of the sweet kisses had distracted her. Either way, it was a pleasant surprise! Since little Leo was sleeping, it was almost like they were alone. That, all by itself, was a rare occurrence. It felt like a miracle that they could even spend time together, but that was all because Ariel's House was gone.
The silly compliment brought a smile to her face and even made her blush. "You know all the right things to say," She laughed. More than likely, June either wanted to leave because it became awkward or he had somewhere to go. Her best guess was that his comment about Gavalion's little hobby had been the culprit. It was still so very tempting to ask but she didn't want to ruin their little date. She imagined that would somehow become a fight between the two of them. In fact, she already knew how it would go down. Her concern was that he kept it from her, and he'd give some excuse that he was trying to protect her. She'd argue about honesty and he'd go on some spree about being a vampire. It would continue to go down the rabbit hole until he left or she kicked him out. Then, she'd realize what just happened and she'd beg him to come back.
"Well, then I hope he likes me! You know, I sometimes wonder what the House said about me. I'm sure they didn't have a lovely opinion of me. I'm just... " she paused. Why did she care? Their opinions hadn't matter and they still didn't. Most of them weren't around anymore anyways. "I'm just nosy. I stole the hearts of two of the vampires and even kissed a third! I was the Myssett harlot," She laughed, grinning over at Gavalion. "I bet June heard some wicked stories about me! I wonder how exaggerated they were. Did I kidnap you and force you to love me? Maybe I woo-ed Sandon to pit you guys against each other for an epic fight!"
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 28, 2018 8:30:55 GMT -8
Gavalion was relieved at her decision to continue to have lunch. He wasn’t looking forward to the actual consumption of the meal, but he wanted her to have the experience—a human experience that was completely lost if she turned into a vampire. She didn’t have to kill anyone for a meal. She wouldn’t have to worry about blood-stained clothes that wouldn’t quite be the same even after being hosed in the shower.
He smiled with her laugh and raised a brow at her suspicions. “I can’t say that you’re too far off from that guess,” he admitted with a soft chuckle. “June did mention what made you so special to be liked, admired, loved, envied, and hated by so many Myssett vampires. He toyed with the idea that you might have been a witch like Envy or my sister’s husband, or you had a growing collection of blackmail.” Gavalion wasn’t going to mention that her craziness was June’s number one and most passionate theory.
Some are scared shitless. Others are plain confused. A few are enamored by the wildness, and there’s a lot that hates it, yeah? he recalled June prattling last night.
He shook his head and threw out another chuckle. “Meeting you today dispelled any weird thoughts. You were so soft-spoken, he probably accepted that Ariel told vampires to behave, but with the loss of the old and the incoming new, the message wasn’t passed down or reiterated.” He said with a wavering smile near the end.
The smile strengthened at the sight of their destination. It was a medium-sized family restaurant known for their soups, yet they had affordable prices and flavorful smoked meats. He opened the door for Raechelle, checked on Leonardo, and followed after her. The restaurant was fairly full, but several tables were still available. There was a peppermint smell in the air, and a guitarist up on stage finished a song and earned a scattered applause among the patrons. So far the reviews weren’t wrong even though he had slight difficulty translating them.
“Would you like to eat here?” he asked. He had looked up a couple other restaurants for alternatives, but this was his first choice. “I guess looking at the menu would be a better assessment. Or we can jump right in,” he smled.
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 28, 2018 10:33:02 GMT -8
"Let's just jump right in! I'm sure it's a lovely place with something I'll like eating!" It wasn't like she was going to be all that picky. Without Gavalion, she'd probably be eating the bare minimum from being so tired. She just didn't have the effort to make anything extravagant. Sure, Lilly and Kory would complain but they'd eat whatever she made or go hungry. But lucky for her, Gavalion was attempting to be the chef for their household.
"It looks really nice," she mused, heading inside the building. Raechelle paused to look around, and partially wait for Gavalion since she had hurried on ahead of him. Despite all of the people, she felt calm here. It seemed to be an upbeat yet calming place all at once, which is what she needed. It wasn't so busy that it was causing her anxiety, and there didn't seem to be any predators lurking about. But did she really have to worry about that now?
She wanted to ask him what blackmail she would have been able to participate in against the House, but now wasn't the time. They were in a more public place that didn't need a scene starting. Was she blackmailing the vampires or was she being blackmailed? She was very curious. Maybe she'd have to write this up in a book...
"It even smells nice," She said softly, turning to offer a smile towards her husband. "You have good tastes!"
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 28, 2018 12:07:26 GMT -8
“Thanks,” he responded in a soft smile, lifting the sunglasses from his eyes. That was a funny thing to say seeing that he couldn’t enjoy or even properly asses the food served here. After allowing the maître d’ to swing through the emotions of enchantment, confusion, and enchantment again, Gavalion mustered up his best French to request a table preferably in the quieter area of the restaurant. It wasn’t perfect, but it was significantly better than when he first came to France.
He offered his hand to Raechelle and followed after the maître d’ once a spot had been determined. Gavalion pulled out a seat for Raechelle and settled Leo and his carrier on the provided stand beside her. He removed the extra blanket from the baby bag and padded the area around Leonardo’s head to reduce the amount of noise that may otherwise rouse the newborn from his sleep. Maybe it didn’t help at all if Leo was cursed with super hearing. Lillian didn’t seem to show any vampire characteristics other than not being completely disgusted with blood. He was glad she seemed otherwise normal. Leo was much more the troublemaker, so he was a bit worried.
Shaking his head, he took a seat and perused the menu for the least expensive item. Leonardo wasn’t even a week old. There was no reason to worry. He should be concerned with making this appear to be a normal date—just the two of them enjoying lunch. He could do this.
“Oh, get whatever your heart desires. I procured some funds after you went to sleep last night, so lunch is on me, okay?” he smiled. Should he pick something up for Nikki? He still hadn’t returned home. Perhaps the boy will return with an empty stomach.
“It looks like they have tea here. We can get a cup since we didn’t get another back at the café,” he suggested. He would probably stick to water himself, but he wasn’t sure if any of the least expensive meals were any palatable than the others. Not a food expert, he was at a loss when it came to some of the ingredients listed. He couldn’t recall the last time he ate human food that wasn’t a brownie or strawberry.
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Post by Aphrodite on Nov 28, 2018 13:33:58 GMT -8
"You procured some funds?" Raechelle asked curiously, raising an eyebrow towards him. She had kindly accepted the seat Gavalion pulled out for her, which only made this feel way more romantic than it actually was. Once she picked up her menu, she thumbed her way through it. She took her time examining each of the little meals she could have since she didn't want to waste the opportunity of being able to order out. It took a few moments, but she managed to narrow down her selections to two sandwiches with their recommended smoked meats.
"Are you going to order anything?" She asked, glancing up from the menu to look at him. It was going to be funny to see if he would pretend to eat his way through the meal. Would he try to do that? Eat the food to try to look normal but end up eating none of it? He could always wrap it up and bring it home. Or, he could just eat all of it! "Because, I know what I want to order. Nikki didn't want food, did he? I don't remember if you told him too."
She closed her menu, placing it down right in front of her. Smiling, she glanced over at Leo and then moved over to tuck him in more. It was hard not to continually fuss over him. Not only was her absolutely adorable, but he was far more fussier than Lillian ever was. At times, she wondered if they thought that because Lilly was so quiet now but she didn't remember Lilly ever being as loud and obnoxious as this little one was.
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Post by Dr. Doom Dragon on Nov 28, 2018 18:08:25 GMT -8
“A few coworkers in the States a while back helped me transfer some of my music to CDs. I found a few blank discs, downloaded a few tracks, and sold the CDs to anyone willing to listen to the tunes,” he explained casually. That was his plan for acquiring legitimate money going forward. She didn’t need to know he looted from his fallen victims. The whole idea that there was blood on his hands was enough as is. “If I can find a studio to record more music, I can update my album,” he smiled. “June sounded like he may have a lead, but I don’t want to depend on him for everything. He has his own life to live and phone calls to make.
“Speaking of living his own life, I didn’t mention this to Nikki.” Frankly he wasn’t around for him to mention the idea; although, Gavalion could have texted him their plans. “I’m sure if he really wants something he’d let us know. As for me, I’m getting something. Everything that I could read sounds good, but whether or not I can enjoy the tastes is another thing.” He honestly thought he might be sick if he tried. “I’m thinking this says something along the lines of pork meat, mushrooms, and peppers, but I have no preference in the end. It’ll all taste the same to me,” he chuckled. He’d try to pace himself with Raechelle. Once she finished, he could take whatever was leftover home as a snack for Lillian later.
Gavalion closed his menu as well. “I already look funny. I don’t need the world thinking I’m funny while I intensely watch you eat,” he teased.
The waiter came over to pour them both glasses of water and took additional drink and their food orders. He grimaced over Gavalion’s pronunciation, kindly corrected him, and picked up their menus. He casted another glance toward the vampire before leaving to put the order in.
Knowing full well that he had to find someone willing to pick up his French studies, Gavalion pushed his glass further toward the center of the table and to the left. “If you want this, let me know. I’m probably not going to drink it.
“So,” he continued, folding his hands on the table and leaning towards her. “Have you thought more about the kinds of adventures you want to have before the end of this year?”
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